The city of St. Paul will argue in Ramsey County court today that it should not have to pay four innocent bystanders who were injured in a 2008 police chase of a drug suspect.

Mary Plaster, her friend Daniel Sanford, her father, Thomas Plaster, and her stepmother, Sandra Plaster, were celebrating Mary Plaster’s 21st birthday at Schroeder’s Bar and Grill on Front Avenue when a car driven by Wendell Raymone Jones crashed into two parked cars, pinning Mary Plaster and Sanford between them.

Plaster lost part of her left leg in the Aug. 27, 2008, accident. Both of Sanford’s legs were broken.

Police were in hot pursuit of Jones, 22, after trying to set up a controlled drug buy with him. Jones fled in his black Dodge Charger, driving up to 110 mph on Front Avenue in St. Paul’s North End neighborhood before he crashed.

The four victims sued the city and several police officers involved in the chase, saying it “created an unreasonable risk to the public.”

But the city argues that the law of immunity protects the police from liability.

“The law gives the police discretion to make decisions about chases like this, and they’re inherently dangerous,” said City Attorney Gerald Hendrickson. “The police still have to try and do their job, and they have to have some leeway. They can’t always worry about what may happen or what may happen in court.”

Attorney Patrick O’Neill Jr. argues for the plaintiffs that the police failed to follow their own written policy about chases. He said the police were not responding to an emergency but created their own “emergency” by inviting Jones into the area and then pursuing him at high speeds.

The police had the choice to find Jones later, O’Neill said, because they knew who he was and where he lived. The city said they suspected it was Jones, but denied being able to verify his identity.

The city argues that the immunity law applies to this case because the state Supreme Court wrote in a previous decision: “Official immunity prevents a public official charged by law with duties which call for the exercise of his judgment or discretion from being held personally liable for damages, unless the official has committed a willful or malicious act.”

Mary Plaster has undergone more than 20 surgeries on her leg, along with a difficult rehabilitation, O’Neill said.

Jones was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison and two additional years in state prison for his involvement in the crash.

The court hearing in the civil case will be held in front of Judge John Van de North.

As you comment, please be respectful of other commenters and other viewpoints. Our goal with article comments is to provide a space for civil, informative and constructive conversations. We reserve the right to remove any comment we deem to be defamatory, rude, insulting to others, hateful, off-topic or reckless to the community. See our full terms of use here.

More in News

The hospice at Boutwells Landing senior housing complex in Oak Park Heights closed Monday due to a compliance issue. Minnesota Department of Health officials recently identified that the hospice, called The Gathering, did not have the correct license to be a residential hospice, said Scott Smith, a spokesman for the department. The Gathering had a housing-with-services license, which covers assisted-living...

The University of Minnesota has backed away from a medical school fellowship in reproductive health care training that included abortion procedures following opposition from anti-abortion groups. The university took down the fellowship posting this month. The program was scheduled to begin in the fall, the Minnesota Daily reported. The Reproductive Health Access Project would have funded the fellowship, said Lisa...

A 2015 Teacher of the Year from St. Paul schools lost her spot on a new teacher licensing board because she insulted President Donald Trump, using a raw expletive, in a social media post. “He is not worthy, nor are his puppet masters, of human dignity,” reads the Jan. 12 Facebook post of Amy Hewett-Olatunde. “He is the s***hole and...

MINOT AIR FORCE BASE — A commander at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota was relieved of his duties after grenade rounds and a machine gun were lost, the base said Wednesday. Col. Jason Beers, commander of the 91st Security Forces Group, was ousted “due to a loss of trust and confidence,” according to Col. Colin Connor, commander of...

CENTER CITY, Minn. — A man charged with killing his neighbor over a lake access dispute has been acquitted in Chisago County. Forty-four-year-old Carl Anderson was facing the possibility of more than two decades in prison had he been found guilty of second-degree murder. Anderson was the one who called 911 after shooting 62-year-old Donn Johnson in February 2017. Anderson...